The Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, and Supporting Hamas

The website of Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi is reporting that a delegation of Qaradawi’s International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), headed by Qaradawi himself, was on a four-day visit to Libya at the invitation of the Transitional Council. According to a Google translation of the Arabic language report:

The delegation of the International Union for Muslim Scholars headed by Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi Thursday Benghazi to a rapturous reception and welcome public hot, where he stressed his virtue on his firm support of revolutions of the Arab, called on Libyans to start building Libya on a new basis, and that everyone is open to is open to everyone. Large crowds and took a plane on landing delegation Benghazi International Airport, where the delegation was received by Dr. Ghaith on behalf of the Honorary Scholars Libya, and the Chairman and members of the local council of the city, and the President of the General Authority of Endowments and the elders and members of the Endowment. And a delegation of scientists – according to Qatar’s leading newspaper – a visit to Libya last four days, at the invitation of the Transitional Council of Libya. It is scheduled to deliver the Friday sermon eminence in Benghazi, to leave the evening with the delegation to the capital. And went Qaradawi addressed the crowds of recipients, in which he stressed his unwavering support of the Arab revolutions, pointing out that he was with the Revolution of Libya from the start and before you, as well as with the revolutions of Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen.

According to the report, two U.K.-based individuals tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood were part of the delegation- Wanis Mabrouk, a leader in the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) and Salem Al-Sheikhi, a member of Qaradawi’s European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR).

Qatari involvement is likely to produce a regime in Libya that follows the political orientation of Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, thereby giving the Muslim Brotherhood an open door in the new Libya. The political debate in Libya will be within an essentially Islamist universe, with different leaders distinguished by the degree to which they seek to implement their Islamism. It seems that the strategy of the democratic states that trusted the promises of the rebel forces to adopt and implement the principles of democracy has collapsed, and that Western aid to overthrow Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime prepared the groundwork for the establishment of an Islamic state, which eventually may become hostile to the West.

Earlier posts reported that the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood held its first ever public conference on Libyan soil and that”senior Muslim clerics” were forming a new political party to rule the country based on “moderate” Islamic laws.

A post from September reported on what the New York times called the “growing influence of Islamists in Libya”, identifying Qatari Muslim Brotherhood figure Ali Sallabi (aka Ali Salabi), already known to be the Revolution’s “spiritual leader and a close associate of Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, as well as for the first time Abel al-Rajazk Abu Hajar who is said to lead the Tripoli Municipal Governing Council and is described as a “Muslim Brotherhood figure.” An earlier post reported on Ali Sallabi and his association with Qaradawi who is known for espousing his view of moderate Islam.

Qaradawi, a virulent anti-Semite is often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements some of which have been discussed in previous posts including Qaradawi stating:

A Union of Good website is reporting that a delegation of Russian journalists and writers that includes two virulently anti-Semitic Russian nationalists was scheduled to visit Hamas controlled Gaza in early December. According to the report:

A delegation of Russian journalists, media figures and writers intends to visit the Gaza Strip in the coming days in the context of a solidarity program in support of the besieged Strip held under the slogan “Moscow is with you, Gaza.” The delegation will be led by noted Russian journalist Alexander Prokhanov, a strong advocate for the Palestinian cause. He is known for writing scathing articles against the Israeli occupation state in his newspaper Zavtra (Tomorrow) and refuting Israel’s lies about the Palestinian rights. The delegation also includes writer and political analyst Shamil Sultanov, the head of the Russia-Islamic world strategic vision group, and a number of Russian journalists and writers who defend the Palestinian rights in the media. The solidarity program “Moscow is with you, Gaza” started last November with an aid convoy of cancer medicines. Funds were collected from Muslim Russians in the holy month of Ramadan to organize this convoy. For his part, head of Jerusalem social and cultural center in Moscow Ali Abu Isam said that a galaxy of Russian ophthalmologists would visit Gaza as part of this solidarity program next February in coordination with the Palestinian ministry of health. Other Russian events and activities in solidarity with Gaza will be organized to help Gaza people and put the Russian society in the picture of the unjust Israeli siege.

An organization that monitors media coverage of Mideast/Israeli issues describes Mr. Prokhanov, who once met with the U.S. former Ku Klux Clan leader David Duke:

Alexander Prokhanov states openly that Jews are the cause of Russia’s misery. Warning that “we will not sit tight with our arms folded idly if the Jews continue to pressure Russian nationalists,” Prokhanov threatened to “answer them with a fist.” Denying that he wanted to destroy the Jews, Prokhanov pointed to Jewish friends and Jewish contributors to his weekly, naming none other than Robert David. (Inter Press Service, August 14, 1992). After Dyen, which means “today,” was closed down in October 1993 for supporting the far-right coup attempt against President Boris Yeltsin, Prokhanov reopened the paper under the name Zavtra, which means “tomorrow.” (See, for example, “The New Birth of a Fascist Newspaper,” Moscow News, December 3, 1993) Under the leadership of Prokhanov, Zavtra has continued to push an extreme and anti-Semitic agenda. In August, for example, Prokhanov met with David Duke, who was in Russia to promote his book Ultimate Supremacism: An Examination of the Jewish Question. (Agence France Presse, Dec 17, 2000).With good reason, Zavtra has been characterized by Russian journalists as the most anti-Semitic newspaper in Russia. Notwithstanding this, Israel Shamir continues to write for the weekly.

In 2004, an online journal that monitors Central Asian issues described the formation of the Russia and the Islamic World: A Strategic Dialogue. Association and its chairman Shamil Sultanov:

A new inter-factional deputies\’ association has been created in the State Duma called Russia and the Islamic World: A Strategic Dialogue. Association co-Chairman Shamil Sultanov (Motherland) announced the group\’s formation at a press conference on 28 April. The group reportedly has 45 members, including Yurii Savelev (Motherland) and Albert Makashov (Communist). Savelev is the former director of St. Petersburg\’s Military Technological Institute, which was included on a U.S. \”blacklist\” for alleged unsanctioned military cooperation with Iran, according to the website. General Makashov is perhaps best known for anti-Semitic statements on the floor of the Duma. According to Sultanov, the group brings together all legislators who understand that today it is the Islamic world — not the West – that is interested in a strong Russia and is therefore Russia\’s natural partner. Nothing was said at the press conference with regard to the association\’s concrete plans, the website reported.

An Israeli newspaper is reporting that a Hamas source has told a London newspaper that the organization has joined “the global movement of the Muslim Brotherhood.” According to the report:

A senior Hamas source told the London-based Arabic-language al-Hayat newspaper on Saturday that the Palestinian organization has joined the global movement of the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the source, the move took place as early as two months ago. The expression “a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood – Palestine” has been added to Hamas’ official name – “The Islamic Resistance Movement.” The source added that the move had nothing to do with recent changes in the Middle East following the Arab Spring. “Following thorough discussions, which lasted more than a year and a half, we saw the need to take this step as the movement is growing and there was a need to lead it to independence instead of being dependent on the Muslim Brotherhood organization in Jordan. Hamas no longer belongs to any organization, but has become completely independent,” he said, adding that the group was now part of the global Muslim Brotherhood organization and was officially represented there. Despite its official admission into the global organization, the source noted that Hamas would continue carrying the flag of armed resistance. “We’ll continue to be different due to the presence of the Israeli occupation in Palestine, and the problem will remain as long as there are occupation forces,” he said. He explained that the movement’s treaty says Hamas is the jihadi wing of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Palestine, and that joining the global organization won’t solve this dilemma. The newspaper reported Friday that Arab and Western elements advised Hamas to rebuild the Muslim Brotherhood wing in Palestine in order to attain international recognition following the Muslim Brotherhood’s growth in Arab countries as a result of the Arab Spring. Some of the movement’s leaders objected, however, claiming that turning the movement from a resistance organization into a political group would weaken it. One of the proposals looked into was to establish a new political movement called “Freedom and Justice”, similar to the Egyptian party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which won the majority of votes in the first round of the Egyptian elections, in preparation of the elections expected to take place in the West Bank and Gaza next year once the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas is completed.

Previous posts have discussed analysts’ claims that that the very idea of a global organization of the Muslim Brotherhood is a “myth” and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s own claims that the concept is a “Hollywood fiction.” In spite of these claims, various figures and organization that are part of the Global Muslim Brotherhood have acknowledged its existence including:

A statement by a U.S. convert and leader in the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is “an influential part of the global Muslim Brotherhood.

An article posted on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood website that identified a slew of Mideast organizations and one Italian group as belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood.

A statement by a frequent speaker at Brotherhood events that ”MB offices have spread to more than 60 countries around the world, including Arab countries, Europe, and the United States.

A statement by a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader in the U.K. that” [In] every European country you can find Muslim Brotherhood.”

The GMBDR has been largely the sole media entity that has been employing that analytical concept of the Global Muslim Brotherhood since its first posts in 2007. As it states in our FAQ:

Leaders in self-identified Muslim Brotherhood organizations have themselves said publicly that the Muslim Brotherhood exists, by its own admission, in more than 70 countries around the world and shares the “same ideology, principles and objective” from country to country. However, as we discussed in a post on the subject, most Brotherhood organizations outside of Egypt do not acknowledge their affiliations (Hamas, in Article Two of its Charter, is an example of an exception, acknowledging the group’s organic link to the Brotherhood), thus requiring researchers to make this identification themselves. We use the term “Global Muslim Brotherhood” as a shorthand to refer to this global network, which in fact is a closed group of people who work together on closely connected organizations, with interlocking directorships, around the world. A close examination of our work validates this practical approach.

The Saudi Press Agency has reported that the Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) has met with Ahmed Al-Rawi, a leader in the U.K and European Muslim Brotherhood. According to the report:

Holy City of Makkah, Muharram 12, 1433 The Secretary General of Muslim World League (MWL) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Al-Turki received here today Ahmed Al-Rawi, the Director General of European Endowment and the Chairman of Muslim Association of Britain. During the meeting, they discussed means of enhancing cooperation between the MWL and the European Endowment in a way that serves Islam and Muslims.

The reference to the “European Endowment” refers most likely to the Europe Trust which although sometimes claiming to be an independent charity, is in fact a central part of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) and that purports to be a “Waqf”, a religious endowment consisting of revenue earning properties. According to a reportby the NEFA Foundation, the Trust has amassed a real-estate portfolio consisting of properties throughout Europe valued in 2006 at 5.7 million British pounds (approximately $10.4 million). The NEFA report notes that the Trust’s known funding sources are all Gulf-based and the Trust had engaged in some questionable, non-transparent real-estate transactions. To date, only a relatively small amount of the Trust’s income has gone to funding actual programs with the bulk of the expenditure devoted to purchasing additional property. When actual programs were supported, they were almost all connected to FIOE member organizations. Other notable trustees include German Muslim Brotherhood leader Ibrahim El-Zayat and Turkish Muslim Brotherhood leader Gazi Misirli.

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) had for many years been the most active organization in the U.K Muslim Brotherhood. Many of the leaders of the MAB left in 2007 to form a new organization known as the British Muslim Initiative (BMI). According to an Israeli think-tank report, the breakup appeared to be the result of a conflict between traditionalists in the MAB who were unhappy with the high level of involvement in U.K left-wing politics while those who who formed the BMI wished such activity to continue. Prior to the split, the MAB often joined in coalitions with far-left U.K groups such as the Stop the War Coalition and the Respect Party. The MAB is still part of the European Muslim Brotherhood umbrella group known as the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) as well as the U.K. umbrella group the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), also dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. After a period in which the MAB appeared to be moribund and only active in Scotland, the web site was reactivated in February 2008 and announced one month later that Ahmed Al-Rawi had been chosen as the new MAB President. Al-Rawi himself had been the long-time president of FIOE and was replaced sometime following theassassination of his brother in Iraq. Mr. Al-Rawi has in the past defended terrorism in Israel and Iraq.

The Muslim World League wasestablished in 1962 as a means for the propagation of Saudi “Wahabbi” Islam. Muslim Brothers played an important role in its founding and, to date, the League has been strongly associated with the Brotherhood.

Tunisian media is reporting that Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood leader Rachid Gannouchi has joined Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi in Libya where both were expected to take part in the First National Congress for Libyan Reconciliation and Reconstruction. According to the report:

10 December 2011 Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the moderate Tunisian Islamist party – Ennahda, began a four day visit to Libya, starting yesterday, December 9th. The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) extended an invitation to Ghannouchi to take part in the First National Congress for Libyan Reconciliation and Reconstruction held in Tripoli. Zoubeir Chahoudi, spokesman of Ennahda Party, stated that Ghannouchi is expected to meet with NTC president Mustafa Abdeljali and Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim Al Keeb later today. The congress will be attended by factions from various regions within Libya, members of the NTC, and officials within the Libyan government. Additionally, a number of prominent guests have been invited to the conference, such as the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (and president of the European Council for Fatwa and Research), Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and the Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, Khaled Al Attiya. lThis visit comes at a delicate time in the history of modern Libya. Libyan authorities have thus far failed to convince armed rebels to return to their hometowns and hand over weapons to the NTC. Disorder within the country remains pervasive following the fall of the former regime, under the leadership of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, in October 2011.Ghannouchi gave a 50-minute speech during the congress urging Libyans to relinquish old feuds and to work towards reconciliation between various factions within Libyan society. The visit was an occasion for Ghannouchi to help improve relations between Tunisians and Libyans following recent tensions along the Tunisian-Libyan border. During his speech, Ghannouchi recalled the strength of the cooperation between Tunisians and Libyans during the Libyan Revolution, when Tunisia hosted over one million Libyan refugees. Ghannouchi also highlighted the necessity of strengthening relations between Libya, Algeria and Tunisia. Sheikh Al-Sadek Al-Ghariani, an eminent Muslim cleric (mufti of Libya), stated during the event that Libyan authorities should work towards strengthening national reconciliation between Libyans and learn from examples previously set in democratic transition and post-war reconciliation. He also stressed the necessity of bringing criminals to justice during this transitional period.

Qatari involvement is likely to produce a regime in Libya that follows the political orientation of Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, thereby giving the Muslim Brotherhood an open door in the new Libya. The political debate in Libya will be within an essentially Islamist universe, with different leaders distinguished by the degree to which they seek to implement their Islamism. It seems that the strategy of the democratic states that trusted the promises of the rebel forces to adopt and implement the principles of democracy has collapsed, and that Western aid to overthrow Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime prepared the groundwork for the establishment of an Islamic state, which eventually may become hostile to the West.

Earlier posts reported that the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood held its first ever public conference on Libyan soil and that ”senior Muslim clerics” were forming a new political party to rule the country based on “moderate” Islamic laws.

A post from September reported on what the New York times called the “growing influence of Islamists in Libya”, identifying Qatari Muslim Brotherhood figure Ali Sallabi (aka Ali Salabi), already known to be the Revolution’s “spiritual leader and a close associate of Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, as well as for the first time Abel al-Rajazk Abu Hajar who is said to lead the Tripoli Municipal Governing Council and is described as a “Muslim Brotherhood figure.” An earlier postreported on Ali Sallabi and his association with Qaradawi who is known for espousing his view of moderate Islam.

Rachid Ghannouchi (many spelling variations) is the leader of the Tunisian Islamist movement known as Nahda (aka Ennahda, Al Nahda) and can best be described as an independent Islamist power center who is tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood though his membership in the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) and his important position in the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), both organizations led by Global Muslim Brotherhood Youssef Qaradawi. An Egyptian news report has identified Ghannouchi as a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood “abroad.” Ghannouchi is also one of the founding members of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi organization closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and dedicated to the propagation of “Wahabist” Islam throughout the world. Ghannouchi is known for his thinking on the issue of Islam and citizenship rights. Earlier posts reported on the return of Mr. Ghannouchi to Tunisia following his long exile in the UK. Other posts have detailed his extremist background.

Qaradawi, a virulent anti-Semite is often referred to here as the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, an acknowledgement of his role as the de facto spiritual leader of the movement. In 2004, Qaradawi turned down the offer to lead the Egyptian Brotherhood after the death of the Supreme Guide. Based in Qatar, Sheikh Qaradawi has reportedly amassed substantial wealth through his role as Shari’ah adviser to many important Islamic banks and funds. He is also considered to be the “spiritual guide” for Hamas and his fatwas in support of suicide bombings against Israeli citizens were instrumental in the development of the phenomenon. A recent post has discussed a video compilation of Qaradawi’s extremist statements

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